Signal device for mailboxes



y 0. 1956 M. B. SHELLABARGER 2,754,051

SIGNAL DEVICE FOR MAILBOXES Filed Dec. 6, 1954 INVENTOR NOflQEST B. SHELLABI96 Ms ATTORNEY United States Patent 1 2,754,051 SIGNAL DEVICE FOR MAILBOXES Morrest B. Shellabarger, Dayton, Ohio Application December 6, 1954, Serial No..473,271'- 2 Claims. (Cl. 232-35) This invention relates to a signalling device for mailboxes, particularly those used in rural districts where the mailbox is generally at a distance from the users residence.

Rural mailboxes are provided with signalling devices generally consisting of flag shaped semaphores carried by arod or staff hinged to the box so that it may be swung into a raised or lowered position. In the use of such a semaphore, the general practice is for the owner to raise the flag to indicate to the postman that mail has been deposited in the box for pick-up purposes. After picking up the mail in the box, the postman lowers the flag. If the postman has no mail for the particular box, a lowered flag indicates that the box is empty and no stop is necessary. On the other hand the postman may raise the flag after making a delivery, indicating to the owner that mail has been deposited in his box. Such an arrangement between the box owner and the postman depends upon complete remembrance by each of the acts to be performed, and forgetfulness of one to do his part may greatly inconvenience the other. This is more of a difficulty to the postman than the owner, for the former may have hundreds of boxes to serve, thus multiplying his chances of mistake 100 to l for the owner of the single box.

It is therefore among the objects of the present inven tion to provide a mailbox with a signalling device which is manually set only by the owner himself, the postman, by necessarily opening the door of the box to place the mail therein, automatically actuating the signal, which indicates that mail has been deposited in the box. Thus in each instance, the responsibility of setting the semaphore for proper signalling rests solely upon the owner of each individual mailbox and the postman, with hundreds of mailboxes to service, is relieved of this responsibility.

This object is accomplished by providing a signal device consisting of a spring loaded detent within the box, said detent being engageable and actuated by the mailbox door when it is moved to box closing position. A semaphore, moved to its uppermost position by the owner of the box, is retained in this position by the door actuated detent until the postman opens the door to deposit mail in the box, at which time the detent is spring actuated to release the semaphore and permit it to drop by gravity into its lowermost position. After depositing the mail, the postman needs only to close the door. Thus the postman is relieved of the responsibility of setting the signal device, being required to go through only the necessarily obvious acts, opening the door, depositing the mail and then closing the mailbox door. The box owner, seeing the semaphore down, is thereby informed that mail is in the box and, after removing the mail, raises the semaphore into its upper position and thereby sets the signal for the next delivery.

A further object of the present invention is to provide the mailbox with means, actuated by the semaphore when it drops into its lowermost position, for closing an electric circuit to render effective visible and/or audible signal devices which may be located in the residence or at any other suitable place.

This object is accomplished by providing a normally open electric switch on the mailbox, said switch having an operating lever normally spring urged into circuit breaking position, but engageable by the semaphore, when it drops into its lowermost position, and actuated. thereby into circuit closing position for rendering the visible or audible signals operative. A master switch may be included in this electric circuit for rendering the circuit eflective or inelfective as desired.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following. description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings in which a. preferred form of embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a rear end view of the mailbox equipped with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the mailbox which isshown in section to disclose interior mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a view similarv to Fig. 2, however, showing the mailbox door opened.

Fig. 4 is an'enlarged, fragmentary view of the box and semaphore.

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section, of parts shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view. of a modified form of electric switch actuating mechanism.

As the drawings show, the mailbox 20 consists of a member 21 forming the top and sides of the box. A bottom member 22, preferably of wood, has the sides of the box secured thereto. A rear end wall 23 is secured to the sides and bottom of the box in any suitable manner, said wall forming a closure for the rear end of the box, the front, open end being closed by a door 24, hinged to the bottom of the box by hinges 25. A spring clasp 26 attached to the door is adapted to engage the keeper 27, secured to the top of the box, for yieldably holding the door in box closing position.

A rod 30 is vertically attached to the rear end wall 23 substantially midway between the sides of the box. Rod 30 extends from the top to the bottom. of the box, forming a slideway for the semaphore 31 which consists of a faceplate having angular flanges 32 and 33 at the top and bottom ends respectively. Both flanges are apertured to receive the rod 30 so that the semaphore may slide on said rod between its top and bottom ends. The inner edges of said flanges are adjacent to but spaced from the rear end wall 23 to prevent substantial turning of the semaphore on said r0 A staff 34 is vertically attached to the semaphore, said staff extending beyond the upper and lower edges of the face-plate of the semaphore. A

denotes the light, B the buzzer or hell and S a master switch by means of which the circuit may be Opened or closed as desired. All these may be located in the house or any other suitable location.

Inside the mailbox and adjacent the top thereof, a detent rod 40 is longitudinally movably supported bya bracket 41 and in an opening in the rear end wall 23 of the box through which one end of said rod extends, the other end of the detent rod 40 has an abutment head 43 adjustably attached thereto. A coil spring 44 about rod 40 is interposed between the bracket 41 and the head 43, said spring yieldably urging the rod 40 forwardly toward the open end of the mailbox. A stop collar 45 is adjustably attached to rod 40 and is engageable with the bracket 41 to limit the forward movement of rod 40 under the influence of spring 44. Collar 45 is fastened to rod 40 so that when said collar engages the bracket 41, the end of rod 40 extends slightly beyond the outer surface of the rear end wall 23. See Fig. 3. Head 43 on rod 40 is engaged by the door when it is moved into box closing position and thereby actuates the rod 40 against the efforts of the spring 44 so that the end of the rod 40 extends beyond the outer surface of the rear end wall 23 a substantially greater distance than when the door is open and the rod 40 is spring actuated. When in this door actuated position, rod 40 has its end extending from wall 23 positioned in the path of movement of semaphore 31, more specifically in the path of movement of the upper flange 32 as the semaphore is moved into its uppermost position.

In order to permit the flange 32 to pass the rod 49 as the semaphore is raised toward its uppermost position, a recess 47 is provided in said flange thereby permitting the flange 32 to clear the rod 40 extending into its path of movement. So that extending rod 40 may not be cleared by flange 32 on the downward movement of the semaphore and said semaphore be retained in its upper position, a U-shaped spring 50 has its two extremities attached to the lower side of flange 32 contiguous to the face plate of the semaphore. The closed end or web 51 of spring 50 extends across and underneath the recess 47 and forms a barrier preventing the movement of the semaphore into its lower position as long as the detent rod end extends from Wall 23 under the influence of the closed mailbox door 24. However as soon as the detent rod is retracted by spring 44 in response to opening of the door 24, the semaphore may move downwardly as spring web portion 51 may readily pass the retracted rod 40. Spring 50 is made of thin, flexible spring metal and thus may flex and permit upward movement of the semaphore 31 past the extending detent rod 40 when door 24 is closed. The dotted lines in Pig. show this spring flexture as the semaphore is moved upwardly when door 24 is closed, and rod 40 consequently extended.

To add an initial impetus to the falling movement of the semaphore when released by the retracted rod 40, specifically its end 42, a spring 143 may be placed about said rod, the spring resting upon the flange 32 of the semaphore. When the semaphore is raised to its uppermost position the spring will engage the supporting plate 142 and be compressed as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 shows an arrangement by which the electric switch is mounted within the mailbox and is operated into circuit closing position by a pivoted lever 137 mounted outside the box and having an angular end portion extending into the box through an opening in its bottom 22, the end portion 139 engaging and operating the movable contact member of switch 138 to close its electric circuit when lever 137 is engaged and actuated by the falling semaphore abutment member 36.

Assuming that the mailbox semaphore 31 is set in its uppermost position by the owner, indicating an empty box. The mailbox door 24 is closed and consequently the semaphore is retained in its raised position. postman having no mail for this particular box will pass it by, knowing by the raised flag 35 that no mail need be picked up. However if the postman has mail to be deposited in this particular box, he opens the door, deposits the mail in the box and then closes the door. No special signal setting is required of him. When the The I postman opened the door to deposit the mail, spring 44 moved the detent rod forwardly retracting its end 142 out of the path of the semaphore and from beneath the spring portion 51 which retained the semaphore in its uppermost position as long as the door 24 remained closed. Released, the semaphore dropped into its lowermost position, the abutment member 36 striking and operating the switch lever 37 to close switch 38 and render the signals L or B operative by the closing of the electric circuit. These or the fact that the semaphore is in its lowered position indicate to the owner that the mailbox has been opened and mail deposited therein. He removes the mail, closes the door 24 and then raises the semaphore into its uppermost position thereby setting the signals for a subsequent delivery. Thus the owner assumes sole responsibility for the setting of the mailbox signal and thereby relieves .the postman of an extra operation which is multiplied by the number of boxes on his delivery route. The device of the present invention places all of the responsibility of setting the signals on the owner of the individual mailbox and he cannot complain if this duty is neglected and he is thereby inconvenienced. It frees the postman of extra duties and relieves him of complaints of neglect of duty to set signals, a miss or two being possible, especially when hundreds of boxes must be served on his route.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A signal device for a mailbox having an open side adapted to be closed by a door hinged to said box, said signal device consisting of a semaphore vertically, slidably attached outside the box opposite the open side thereof, said semaphore being manually movable up wardly and downwardly movable by gravity; a spring loaded detent rod longitudinally, slidably supported within the mailbox adjacent its top, said detent rod being free of the open door but engageable by the door as it is operated to close the mailbox, and thus actuated thereby to have the detent rod extend from the box into the path of movement of the semaphore; means on the semaphore, engageable with the extending detent rod and yieldable to permit passing of the semaphore on its upward movement only, said means preventing the semaphore from moving past the extending detent rod downwardly until said detent rod has been retracted by the spring on the rod in response to opening of the door.

2. A signal device for a mailbox having an open end adapted to be closed by a door hinged to the box, said signal device consisting of a detent rod movably supported within said mailbox adjacent its top, one end of said detent rod extending through and being slidably supported in an opening in the wall of the box opposite the door, the other end of the detent rod being completely free of the door in its box open position, but directly engageable by the door and longitudinally moved by the door as said door moves to close the box; a spring engaging the detent rod and urging it toward the door; a stop on said rod operative to limit movement of the rod toward the door for preventing said detent rod from being moved out of the supporting opening in the mailbox; a second rod vertically attached to the wall of the box opposite its opposite end, a semaphore slidably at tached to said second rod, said semaphore having means yieldably movable in one direction only for engagement with said detent rod, thereby permitting the semaphore to be moved upwardly past the extending detent rod when the door is closed, said means providing a stop engageable with the extending detent rod for preventing return of the semaphore into its lowermost position only when the door is closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

